House Race News Roundup

Plenty of exciting news in House races over the past few days.

AL-02: Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright intends to run as a Democrat for the vacant Second District seat in Alabama, currently held by retiring Republican Terry Everett. The DCCC and Alabama Democrats have been recruiting Bright to run for months, as he is probably one of the only Democrats who could make a competitive race in this blood-red district. How red? Bush received 67% of the vote here against John Kerry, and it is more strongly Republican than all but four Democratic-held districts (there's an argument to be made that it's actually more Republican than TX-22, which has a slightly higher PVI).

Now, it must be said that Bobby Bright is not exactly a liberal lion. He considered running as a Republican in this race, and he identifies himself as a conservative. Still, this is about as red as districts get, so there's something to be said for having any kind of serious candidate here.

NV-02: Nevada Democratic Party chairwoman Jill Derby will run again; she lost a close race in 2006 against now-Rep. Dean Heller, 50-45. It would take a near-miracle for a Democrat to win this R+8.2 seat, but Derby nearly pulled it off last cycle. This won't be a top-tier race, but it certainly bears watching.

UT-02: Usually, the entry of a young, well-funded, and well-connected Republican challenger to a popular Democratic incumbent in a blood-red Utah district would not exactly thrill me.

But I will make an exception for Josh "Son of Mitt" Romney, who is mulling a challenge to Utah's lone Democratic Representative, the well-respected Jim Matheson. (Hat tip to BruinKid, who diaried this at Swing State Project).

I felt rather cheated at the Mittster's uninspiring performance in the Republican primary this year. I had so hoped to have my former Governor around through November, so that I could continue firing snarky broadsides at him from the Internet (they don't make much easier targets than the Mittster, as you know). So the prospective entry of another Romney into the race (he hasn't decided yet), and better yet, the prospect of Willard campaigning for him, is positively thrilling for me.

Getting serious for a moment, Josh Romney's name and money would make him a serious candidate in this race, and put it on the list of potential Republican pickup opportunities. Still, Matheson is very well-liked in the district (and throughout the state, in fact), so he would still be favored in the campaign. Unless, you know, the Romneys let the dogs out.

MI-09: Nancy Skinner has dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination to face Rep. Joe Knollenberg, which clears the field for former State Senator and Lottery Commissioner Gary Peters. This is a very promising race, as Peters is a strong candidate and the district is about as purple as they come, with an almost perfectly neutral PVI of R+0.1. Peters won the district, in fact, in his 2002 race for Michigan Attorney General (a race he lost statewide by less than a fifth of a point, to Republican Mike Cox).

I wish the best for Nancy Skinner, who ran a surprisingly close race against Knollenberg in 2006, in whatever she chooses to do.

NY-26: Looks like Jack Davis, fast approaching "perennial candidate" status, is going to run in the Democratic primary to face Rep. Tom Reynolds. Again. After failed runs in 2004 and 2006. He's joined in the primary by attorney Alice Kryzan, and a 29-year old Iraq War veteran and Yearly Kos attendee named Jon Powers.

Davis has plenty of money, so this primary could get expensive, and maybe quite divisive. But at the end of the day, I can't believe the good people of NY-26 (or any other district, for that matter) could possibly vote against anyone named "Jon Powers".  

IL-11: The Republican candidate for this Republican-held open seat, New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann, has dropped out of the race. Apparently, he hated calling up people he didn't know and asking them for money. Sounds like he actually had a conscience, so it is perhaps not surprising he didn't care much for a Congressional campaign. The Republican county chairmen in the district will select a replacement, who will have their hands full in this swing district with Democrat Debbie Halvorson. I'm not a great fan of her website, but she's a fine candidate, and she's in a commanding position now with the Republicans' top choice out of the race.

AZ-01: Embattled Rep. Rick Renzi  is defiant to the last. He won't resign, despite the most fervent wishes of Minority Leader John Boehner and NRCC Chairman Tom Cole, who no doubt remember the devastating effect the "Culture of Corruption" meme had on their electoral fortunes in 2006. Unfortunately, Arizona Republicans will get to enjoy Renzi's taint for many more months, and that's a good thing in a state with four competitive House races.

Update: I mistakenly identified Alice Kryzan as a former Republican. As The Maven points out, she is not. I've edited to reflect this.